JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Raise a glass to Georgia’s defense. Or three, actually – one for each second-quarter turnover that turned the rivalry known as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party into another lopsided affair.
The top-ranked Bulldogs and the nation’s No. 1 defense dominated Florida on Saturday, scoring three touchdowns off miscues in a 12-play sequence that carried them to a 34-7 victory, their fourth in five years in the neutral-site game between old Southeastern Conference rivals.
Georgia (8-0, 6-0) posted its 12th straight win since getting steamrolled by the Gators in Jacksonville a year ago. The Bulldogs’ injury-riddled defense allowed 571 yards in that one, the most under Kirby Smart, who is now in his sixth season as head coach at his alma mater.
Georgia vowed to not let it happen again and responded with another demoralizing effort – for opposing offenses, not the Bulldogs and their fans – that might be their most impressive all season.
“It was real personal,” linebacker Nolan Smith said.
The news got better for the Bulldogs hours after the game when they clinched the SEC East Division title with Kentucky’s loss to Mississippi State. The SEC championship game is Dec. 4 in Atlanta, and Georgia will play in it for the fourth time in five years and the ninth time overall. The Bulldogs won in 2002, 2005 and 2017.
Florida (4-4, 2-4) managed no points, 11 first downs and 214 yards through three quarters against Georgia, and it looked like the Gators’ decades-old, NCAA-record scoring streak might be in jeopardy down the stretch. They finally got on the scoreboard with 2:49 remaining, extending the streak to 418 games; they have scored in every outing since getting shut out by Auburn in 1988.
Quarterback Emory Jones’ late touchdown run, though, did little to negate Georgia’s mastery for three-plus hours on a cool, sun-drenched afternoon. All the empty seats on Florida’s side of TIAA Bank Field told the real story.
This one was over by halftime, and Georgia’s defense deserved a toast for making it happen.
“It was a whole bunch of momentum,” Smart said. “You get momentum like that, it can be an overswell.”
AP photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack / Georgia football coach Kirby Smart, center, celebrates with players and fans in the stands after they the top-ranked Bulldogs beat Florida on Saturday in Jacksonville.Smith started the onslaught by ripping the ball out of Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson’s arms at the end of an 8-yard run. Georgia running back James Cook sliced his way through Florida’s defense for a 10-yard touchdown on the ensuing play with 2:16 left in the second quarter.
Richardson was making his first start for the Gators, getting the nod over turnover-prone Jones, but he wasn’t the difference Florida fans expected.
“The talent’s there,” Gators coach Dan Mullen said. “We’ve just got to get him coached up on the intangibles.”
Two plays later, Travon Walker tipped Richardson’s pass over the middle and Smith intercepted it. Stetson Bennett, who started his fourth consecutive game in place of the injured JT Daniels, found Kearis Jackson for a 36-yard score on first down.
Trailing 17-0, Richardson had Florida on the move before throwing a pass that Nakobe Dean picked off and returned 50 yards for a touchdown with seven seconds left in the half.
“It was just momentum swings,” Smith said. “Anybody could have done it.”
Forcing turnovers had been Georgia’s lone defensive weakness all season. Smart said an assistant coach ran down the statistics in the locker room and showed the unit it was in the top three in every category expect takeaways; the Dawgs were 68th.
“That offends our guys,” Smart said. “I can’t say that’s why we got turnovers. But that challenged their pride.”
The Bulldogs scored three times in 2:09. The last team to score three touchdowns in that little time at the end of a half was Utah State, which did it in a 52-26 win over Boise State in 2015.
Florida never recovered, losing for the seventh time in its past nine games against Power Five opponents.
“In the final third of the season, it’s on me to get this fixed,” Mullen said. “And I certainly plan on doing that, of changing where we’re at right now.”
The Gators opened the season thinking they had two quarterbacks, but it looks more and more like they don’t even have one. Richardson struggled all day, completing 12 of 20 passes for 82 yards and rushing for 26 yards. Jones was better late, finishing 10-of-14 for 112 yards and running for 22 yards and Florida’s lone touchdown.
Even a play with both quarterbacks on the field backfired.
Florida went 0-for-2 on trick plays, throwing incomplete passes both times under pressure from Walker. On the first one, Jones lateraled to Richardson, who threw into double coverage as Jacob Copeland failed to make the catch. The second one was a halfback pass by Malik Davis, who threw incomplete to Xzavier Henderson.
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season will be revealed Tuesday night. The Bulldogs are likely to be No. 1 in that regard, too, and Smart’s defense looks every bit capable of carrying the Bulldogs to their first national championship since 1980. The unit is hard to run on, tougher to block and has enough depth to overcome injuries.